Dambuster hero 'was never a daredevil'

Elizabeth Bell, the sister of Dambuster Flight Lieutenant John Vere Hopgood,
who died during the first dam strike, remembers him as a nervous child,
whose bravery in the RAF saved the lives of two of his crew members.

Flight Lieutenant John Vere Hopgood was the pilot of one of 19 Lancaster bombers that took part in the Dambusters raid on Nazi Germany in May 1943.

During the run up to the attack on the first dam, Flt Lt Hopgood's plane was badly damaged from the blizzard of enemy fire.

The crew managed to release their bomb but they were too close to the dam wall. The bomb bounced over, hittting a power station and exploding just below the aircraft.

Despite being badly wounded, Flt Lt Hopgood managed to fly the bomber to higher altitude long enough for two of his crew, Anthony Burcher and James Fraser, to parachute to safety. Wireless operator John Minchin was killed when his parachute failed to open.

The plane crashed moments later killing Flt Lt Hopgood, along with Ken Earnshaw and George Gregory who were still aboard.

His heroism is recalled by his younger sister Elizabeth Bell, who said he overcame his childhood nerves to become a brave pilot.

"I can remember him as a little boy, sort of getting in a panic over things. As a small child, he used to cry a lot," she said. "But when he got into the RAF it was incredible how he managed to control it."